Gammaretrovirus Thought To Be Important Cause of Chronic Fatigue

Called XMRV, it has been discovered in people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. The new study provided overwhelming evidence that XMRV is a human gammaretrovirus — the third human retrovirus (after H.I.V. & human lymphotropic viruses, which cause leukemia & lymphoma). Infection is permanent & it can spread from person to person (though it is not yet known how the virus is transmitted). However, not everyone infected with XMRV will necessarily get chronic fatigue syndrome — in the same way that not all people infected with HIV will get AIDS. To read more, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/opinion/21johnson.html?_r=4